Clamp



June 5, 1962 w, A. HAYNES ETAL 3,

CLAMP Filed June 12, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mil/am A. Haynes 8 M'l/iam E Seafon IN VENTORS.

June 5, 1962 w. A. HAYNES ETAL 3,037,767

CLAMP Filed June 12, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7"... '..II'....'....J

t w. ulAlLfk/JILF/ %EEEMMu m a; N es a N nay/1am A Haynes a Mil/am ESea/m INVENTORS.

BY WW EM United States Patent Filed June 12, 1959, Ser. No. 819,921 4 Claims. (Cl. 269-189) This invention relates generally to clamps and more particularly to a novel clamp construction particularly adapted for being clamped to a fascia board beneath the eaves of a building for temporarily supporting a gutter which is to be secured to the fascia board beneath the eaves.

In placing a gutter around a building or a housing, the gutter being made out of galvanized iron, aluminum, or copper, is, of course, in long sections. Necessarily this demands that two men support the section at the ends thereof while a third man mounts the gutter onto the fascia board. Of course, the fascia board is immediately beneath the eaves of the building so that the gutter protrudes thereunder in order to catch water flowing from the roof. Since the necessity of employing three men to mount the gutter section to the fascia board is expensive, the development of a device for replacing the men would of course be extremely desirable and economical. Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a novel clamp design adapted to be clamped onto a fascia board for supporting a gutter section whereby a pair of men may be freed. A single worker may then nail the gutter to the fascia board. The clamp, whose particulars are more specifically disclosed below, is attached to the fascia board and has protruding therefrom an adjustable supporting element for supporting a gutter.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel clamp construction which may be easily utilized and incorporates novel features facilitating the utilization thereof. Initially the clamp comprises a male and female member, each defining a jaw and handle portion. The jaw portions have gripping means extending therefrom which grip the fascia board. Spring means are carried between the handle portion of the male and female members tending to open the jaw portions and release the clamp from the fascia board. However, a spring latch counter-acts the spring means to retain the handle portion in proximity to each other to maintain the jaw portions in a substantially closed position. The clamp further includes a releasing pin secured to the female member for releasing the spring latch means.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel clamp construction incorporating adjustable supporting means for holding the gutter section. The adjustable supporting means includes a collar fixed to the male member receiving a rod for slidable movement therethrough. The rod has a supporting element extending perpendicularly therefrom with the supporting element being hollow so as to receive an extension element therein. Setscrews are utilized to position the rod and extension element as desired so that the gutter sections may be prop erly retained adjacent the fascia board.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel clamp construction which is inexpensive to manufacture and utilize and which is reliable and durable.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part'hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view illustrating the clamp attached to a fascia board and supporting a gutter section ready for nailing to the fascia board;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of a pair of clamps attached to a fascia board and supporting a gutter section thereon in a position whereby it may be nailed to the fascia board beneath the caves of the building;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational plan view of a pair of clamps secured to a fascia board and illustrating in dotted lines gutter sections which may be supported thereby;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view illustrating the internal clamp construction;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the plane 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a bottom elevational view of the clamp construction; and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the plane 7-7 of FIGURE 4. With continuing reference to the drawing numeral 10 generally represents a clamp adapted to be secured to a fascia board 12 beneath the eaves 14 of a house or building. The clamp 10 is intended to support a gutter 16 of galvanized iron, aluminum, or such between a pair of clamps 18 and 20.

With particular reference to FIGURE 4, it is to be noted that the clamp 10 includes a female member 22 and a male member 24. The female member 22 includes a jaw portion 26 and a handle portion 28 while the male member 24 includes a jaw portion 30 and a handle portion 32. A rectangular slot 34 is defined in the female member 22 and the jaw portion 36 of male member 24 protrudes therethrough. A pivot pin 36 extends through the female member 22 and male member 24 for pivotally relating them. Outer heads 38 and 40 on the pivot pin 36 sandwich the male and female member 24 and 22 therebetween to secure the pin within the members. It will be seen that the slot 34 defined in the female member 22 is large enough so that the jaw portion 30 of male member 24 may pivot therein.

The first lug 42 has a pointed end 44 and a threaded shank portion 46. The threaded shank portion 46 is threadedly received within a threaded aperture in the jaw portion 26 of female member 22. A pointed lug 48 has a point 56 and a threaded shank portion 52 threadedly received Within a threaded aperture in the jaw portion 30 of male member 24. As particularly illustrated in FIG- URE 4, the pointed lugs 42 and 48 are adapted to penetrate and grip the fascia board 12.

A pin 54 is secured to the handle portion 28 of female member 22 while a pin 56 is secured to the handle portion 32 of male member 24 opposed to the pin 54. A coil spring 58 concentrically supported on the pins 54 and 56 tending to urge the handle members 28 and 32 apart which of course tends to urge the jaw portions 26 and 30 apart. A resilient and flexible spring latch 60 is secured beneath the male member 24 by a screw 62 threadedly engaged in the male member 24. A protuberance 64 terminally formed on the spring latch 60 retains the handle portions 28 and 32 in proximity of each other, counteracting the spring urging of coil spring 58. It will be apparent that the coil spring 58 assures that the handle 28 of female member 22 properly bears against the protuberance 64. In order to release the spring latch 60, a hollow sleeve 66 is integrally formed with the female member 22 and receives therethrough a releasing pin 68. The releasing pin 68 is terminally threaded as at 70 and 72. Nuts 74 are received on the threaded end 70 while a coil spring '76 is received on the pin 68 between the upper portion 78 of the sleeve 66 and a nut 80 threadedly received on the threaded portion 72. It will be apparent that the spring 76 tends to urge the nut 80 and pin 68 upwardly through the sleeve 66. Of course the nut 74 may be adjusted for determining the desired position of the releasing pin 68. The nut 80 has a thumb extension 82 integrally formed therewith for alprinciples of the invention.

lowing the pin 68 to be manually depressed to hinge the spring latch 60 about the screw 62 for disengaging the female member 22 from the protuberance 64.

Formed integrally with'the handle portion 32 of the male member 24 is a bore or collar 84 slidably receiving a rod 86, A pair of winged setscrews 88 and 90 extend through threaded apertures formed in bosses 92' and 94 for engagement with the rod 86 to secure the rod 86 in any desired vertically adjustable position. A perpendicularly disposed supporting element 96 extends from therod 86 and defines a hollow 98 therein. Anextension element 100 including perpendicularly disposed legs 102 and 104'is received within the hollow 98 and adjustably retained by wingedsetscrew 106 extending through the supporting element 96 to the hollow 98 to bear against the extension element 100.

It is thought that the constructional details of the clamp should now be apparent. Accordingly, the method of utilization of the clamp will be appreciated. Initially, the

pointed lugs 42 and 48 are placed in the fascia board 12* to grip the board as illustrated in FIGURE 4 with the aid of hand pressure on the handle portions 28 and 32 counteracting the spring force of spring 58. The spring men 60 then retains the clamp 18 in the gripping position illustratedin FIGURE 4. The rod 86 may then be vertically adjusted and the extension element 100 may be horizontally moved and each retained by the setscrews provided. The gutter 16 may then be properly positioned .or supported on the supporting element96 as shown in FIGURE 1 so that the gutter 16 may be nailed, to the" fascia board 12.

In order to remove the clamp from the fascia board after the gutter 16 is secured thereto, thumb pressure may be applied to the extension 82 to depress the releasing pin 68 so that the spring latch 69 and protuberance 64 are disengaged from the handle portion 28 of female member 22.

Further utilization of the clamps arezthought to be obvious. Painters may find the clamps useful insecuring paint buckets therefrom so that the painter mayimove his ladder without the necessity of having to carry the bucket down the ladder. The particularly improved features introduced by the clamp are found in the ease of attachment to the fascia board by utilizing what would appear to be a simple pair of pliers and having the jaw portions or claws bite into the Wood comprising the fascia board to hold theclamp securely.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desiredto limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 7 described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows: 1. A ,supportingclamp adapted to be secured to a fascia board comprising a first elongated member, a second elongated member, said first and second members being connected by pivot means, a handle portion and a jaw portion defined on said first member, a handle, portion and a jaw portion defined on said second member,

gripping means carried by each of said jaw portions adapted to grip said fascia board when said handle portions are relatively moved, a support element adapted to support a gutter connected to one of said members and having a supporting surface extending substantially normal to at least one gripping surface on one of said jaw portions, said handle portions being adjacent one another and adapted to be operated by one hand of an operator of the clamp, said jaw portions being pivoted toward one another to grip said board when said handle portions are relatively moved, said handle portions being said latch means, said releasing means being manually operative to engage said latch means for releasing it.

3. A clamp as recited in claim 2 and including a collar secured to one of the handle portions, a rod slidable in the collar and adjustably locked therein by a plurality of set screws, said support element connected at one end to an. end of said rod, an abutment at the other end of said support element'for retaining the gutter on the support element, and means adjustably connecting a the abutment to the support element.

4; A supporting clamp adapted to be secured to a fascia board comprising a firstrelongated member, a second elongated member, said first and second members being connected by pivot means, ahandle portion and a jaw portion defined. on said first member, a handle portion and a jaw portion defined on said second member,

gripping means carried ,by each of "said jaw portions adapted to grip said fascia board when said handle portions are relatively moved, a support element adapted to sup- .40..

port a gutter connected to one of said members and having a supporting surface extending substantially normal 'to at least one gripping surface on one of said jaw portions, said handle portions being adjacent one another and adapted to be operated by one hand of an operator of the clamp, said jaw portions being pivoted toward one another to grip said board when said handle portions are relativelymoved, said pivot means being between said jaw portions and said handle portions and at a point where said elongated members cross one another.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Billrnire July 6, 1897 "758,504 Bolding Apr. 26, 1904 838,514 Baker Dec. 18, 1906 1,595,716 Ford Aug. 10, 1926 1,882,095 Reggitts Oct. 11, 1932 2,625,353 'Henry Jan. 13, 1953 2,879,962 Biskup Mar. 31, 1959 Ball et a1. Apr. 14, 1959 

